Elevated floor construction



Oct. 18, 1966 w. J. DONOVAN ELEVATED FLOOR CONSTRUCTION Filed May 28,1963 United States Patent 3,279,134 ELEVATED FLOOR CONSTRUCTION WilliamJohn Donovan, Franklin Park, N.J., assignor to Electronic FlooringSystems, Inc., Newark, NJ. Filed May 28, 1963, Ser. No. 283,920 1 Claim.(Cl. 52--126) This invention relates generally to the field of elevatedflooring, of a type in which a plurality of generally rectangular floorpanels are supoprted above a normal floor at the corners thereof uponstilt-like support elements for the purpose of providing space forconduits, cables and the like connected to various items of equipmentdisposed upon the elevated floor, to provide thereby a superficial floorwhich is relatively uncluttered. Flooring of this type is widely used inconjunction with the installation of various types of electronic dataprocessing equipment and similar installations where a number of unitsare positioned in the same room and interconnected by a multitude ofconductors.

It is among the principal objects of the present invention to provide animproved floor construction of the class described in which theindividual floor panel elements may be accurately aligned, both to be inco-planar relation, and with regard to the side edges thereof, whereinindividual panels may be removed or replaced, as desired, each panelaccurately fitting into position without the necessity of performingadjustments.

Another object of the invention lies in the provision of improved floorconstruction of the class described having means for preventing theoccurrence of misadjustment of the stilt-like support elements over aperiod of time as a result of vibration, wherein the necessity forsubsequent adjustment of the support elements is completely eliminated.

A further object of the invention lies in the provision of an improvedflooring construction of the class described in which the manufacturingcost thereof may be of a reasonably low order, with consequent widesale, distribution, and. use.

A further object of the invention lies in the provision of elevatedfloor construction which may be fabricated entirely of light weightmetals, with consequent elimination of fire hazards and the like whichhave "been concomitant with prior art installations.

A feature of the invention lies in the fact that the floor panelelements employed are of such construction that extremely accurateexternal dimensions may be maintained during the formation thereofwithout substantially effecting the low cost of manufacture.

Another feature of the invention lies in the provision of improvedinsulating means disposed between the panel elements and the supportelements to prevent vibrational conductivity therebetween.

These objects and features, as well as other incidental ends andadvantages, will more fully appear in the progress of the followingdisclosure and be pointed out in the appended. claims.

In the drawing, to which reference will be made in the specification,similar reference characters have been employed to designatecorresponding parts throughout the several views.

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary view in perspective of an embodiment of theinvention.

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary enlarged side eleva-tional view thereof.

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary enlarged view in perspective showing thedisengagement of means for locking the adjustment of individual supportelements.

FIGURE 4 is a bottom perspective view showing one of the panel elementscomprising the embodiment.

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In accordance with the invention, there is illustrated in FIGURE 1 inthe drawing an elevated flooring construction, generally indicated byreference character 10, and including a plurality of cast metallic panelelements 11, a plurality of adjustable support elements 12, a pluralityof tile retaining elements 13, and a plurality of surfacing materialtiles 14.

The panel elements 11 are generally similar, and, as best seen inFIGURES 1 and 4, each includes an upper planar member 16, a plurality ofperipheral reinforcing members 17 and internally disposed reinforcingmembers 18. The peripheral reinforcement members 17 are generallysimilar, each including an edge rail 19, a plurality of sloped portions20 and a plurality of corner portions 21 which engage the supportelements 12. The corner portions 21 cooperate with side portions 22 todefine a generally rectangular recess 23 in which a portion of a supportelement 12 is disposed in such manner that relative rotation between thesame is impossible.

The support elements 12 include a horizontally disposed base member 28to which there is suitably secured by welding or otherwise, a verticallydisposed threaded shaft 29. A threadedly engaged nut member 30 ispositioned on the shaft 29 and supports a panel element engaging member31 having 'a hollow tubular portion 32 and a horizontal plate portion33. A nut member 30 is of conventional configuration, including sidesurfaces 35 and an upper surface 36 which contacts the tubular portion30.

The tubular portion 32 includes a cylindrical outer surface 42 and aplurality of planar outer surfaces 43 which slideably engage anut-locking member 44 in splined relation. As best seen in FIGURE 3, thenut locking member may be of stamped construction and includes firstside walls, one of which is indicated by reference character 45, andsecond side walls 46 interconnected therewith having downwardlyprojecting tongues, one of which is indicated by reference character 47which selectively engage certain of the side surfaces 35 when the nutlocking member 46 is in the position shown in FIG- URE 2. Adjustment ofthe nut member 30 with respect to the tubular portion 32 is possible bymanually lifting the nut-locking member 44, and maintaining the same inelevated condition as shown in FIGURE 3 while simultaneously rotatingthe nut member 30 to a desired level. Upon reaching the same, the nutmember 30 is aligned with the tongues 47 of the nut locking member 44,following which the locking member is allowed to drop to the positionshown in FIGURE 2, wherein the lower edges of the side walls rest uponthe upper surface 36 of the nut member 30. As best seen in FIGURE 2, thetubular portion 32 includes a hollow bore 48 which surrounds thethreaded shaft 29, and is of a diameter sufficicntly large to avoidthreaded interengagement therewith, so that upon rotation of the nutmember 30, the plate portion 33 will be raised or lowered to the desiredlevel.

The plate portion 33 is interconnected with the tubular portion 32 by aplurality of reinforcing ribs 34, and is provided on the upper surfacethereof with. a rectangular recess 50 in which a synthetic resinousinsulated member 51 is fitted. The member 51 has a centrally locatedopening 52 which frictionally engages a corresponding centrally locatedpin retaining means 53, the necessity of precisely fitting the syntheticresinous member 51 within the recess 50 being thereby eliminated.

The tile retaining elements 14 are preferably formed from syntheticresinous material, and are of slightly greater over-all width than thatof the panel elements 11, so that when the same are positioned upon thepanel elements 11 they may effect a slightly resilient seal. Theelements 13 are substantially similar, each including a lower surface 55adapted to rest upon the planar members 16, as well as an upper surface56, which is bordered by side walls 57. The walls 57 include an innersurface 58 forming a rectangular recess with the upper surface 56, andan outer surface 59 which is slightly angularly disposed as best seen inFIGURE 2 to effect a Wedging action when installed. The surfacingmaterial tiles 14 may be of any desired construction, as for examplevinyl, asphalt, cork and the like, and are of such configuration as tofit directly into the recess 60 in the tile retaining elements 13. Theymay thus be conveniently replaced as required, and are preferablyretained in position only by the frictional engagement of the same withthe surface 56.

It is to be understood that it is not considered that the invention islimited to the precise details of structure shown and set forth in thisspecification, for obvious modifications will occur to those skilled inthe art to which the invention pertains.

What is claimed is:

In elevated flooring including a plurality of generally rectangularfloor panels and a plurality of adjustable supports disposed beneath thepanels for supporting the panels at the corners thereof, the improvementfor maintaining a given individual height adjustment of the supportswhich comprises: said support elements having a threaded shaft, a nutthreaded on said shaft, a panel engaging member having a tubular portionsupported on said nut and surrounding said shaft and being provided withan outer surface, a locking member slideably arranged in splinedrelation on said outer surface of said tubular portion and selectivelyengageable With said nut member to prevent rotation thereof relative tosaid tubular portion, said panel engaging member having a generallyrectangular horizontal upper surface formed with a recess provided withan upright pin, and a resilient insulating member disposed in saidrecess and having a bore therein frictionally engaged by said pin, saidpanels having corner portions formed with a generally rectangular recessfor receiving a corner of said upper surface and said resilient memberof a panel engaging member so that relative rotation between said panelsand panel engaging members is prevented.

References (Zited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,580,015 4/1926Clark 15l44 2,956,653 10/1960 Liskey 52-426 X 3,025,934 3/1962 Spiselman52508 X 3,067,843 12/1962 Rushtoh 52263 X 3,100,624 8/1963 Spiselman248-354 X FOREIGN PATENTS 15,901 1912 Denmark.

FRANK L. ABBOTT, Primary Examiner. JOHN E. MURTAGH, Examiner.

